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Phoenix Marathon

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Location:

UT,

Member Since:

Oct 14, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

85 marathons, 5 times Utah Grand Slam finisher (division winner twice).

7 Bostons (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016).

Two 50Ks, one 50 miler (Pony Express).

A handful of AG wins in all distance races.

Marathon PR: 3:57:09 (Boston'08)

Half Marathon PR: 1:48:41 (Bryce Canyon '11)

10K PR: 47:50 (Spectrum 10K '09)

5K PR: 22:31 (Nestle 5K '08)
 

Short-Term Running Goals:

2017 Races:

June 10 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:13:43)

June 24 - Morgan Valley Marathon (5:49:01)

July 8 - Hobbler Half (2:19:37, 2nd AG)

July 24 - Temple to Temple 5K (27:43)

July 29 - Timp Half (2:08:01, 3rd AG)

Aug 26 - Mt. Nebo Marathon (5:16:16, 3rd AG)

Sep 16 - Huntsville Marathon (4:48:53)

Oct 7 - St. Geroge Marathon (4:57:11)

Nov 4 - Canyon City Marathon (5:30:07)

2018 Races:

Jan 13 - St. George Half (2:19:45, 3rd AG)

Mar 3 - The Woodlands Marathon (5:01:35)

Apr 6-7 - Ragnar So. California

June 1-2 - Ragnar Wasatch Back

June 9 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:19:22)

June 30 - Morgan Valley Half

Sep 1 - Pocatello Marathon (6:00:43)

Sep 15 - Huntsville Marathon (5:37:08)

Oct 6 - St. George Marathon (5:25:43)

Oct 20 - SoJo Marathon (5:29:23)

2019 Races:

June 1 - Utah Valley Marathon (5:44:24)

June 22 - Morgan Valley Marathon (6:15:13)

Aug 31 - Pocatello Marathon (5:38:47)

Sep 14 - Big Cottonwood Marathon (6:03:51)

Oct 5 - St. George Marathon (5:57:46)

Oct 12 - SoJo Marathon (5:55:45)

2020 Races:

Jan 18 - St. George Half (2:38:28)

Feb 15 - Sun Marathon (5:51:54)

May 5 - Conquer Covid-19 Virtual Marathon (5:49:07)

May 16 - Clear Creek Canyon Half Marathon (2:32:15)

May 25 - Utah Valley Virtual Marathon (5:33:110

June 9 - Independence Run Virtual Marathon (5:55:22)

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run happy and healthy all the days of my life. Be an example and inspiration to my family.

 

Personal:

I'm 64, retired RN, happily married, nana to 14 beautiful grandchildren, mother to 6 children (1 daughter, 5 sons) who are kind, hardworking, caring, wonderful people! Wish they live closer!!!  :)  :)  :)

Picked up running in 2005 at age 50, to stay healthy so I can take care of my husband who had endocarditis resulting in AVR and MVR in 2004, end stage renal failure in 2014, kidney transplant on Dec 30, 2015.  Six months after the kidney transplant, we discovered that he has a rare auto-immune disease that was probably triggered in 2004 with then the undiagnosed infective endocarditis.  The doctors had to make up a name for this rare disease, Monoclono Gammopathy with Renal Significance (MGRS).  It is not curable.  After desperately trying different chemotherapies, the doctor finally found one immuno-therapy, Daratumamab, that works to treat the MGRS.  It is a miracle!!! 

Grateful for the gift of life, blessings, dear friends and loved ones!!! Thankful for the ability to move, walk, jog, and yes run!!!!

 

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Guide ISO Wide Lifetime Miles: 311.91
Saucony Guide ISO Lifetime Miles: 313.31
Sacony Guide ISO (2) Lifetime Miles: 225.26
Altra Torin (sz 7) Lifetime Miles: 44.49
Saucony Guide 10 (2020) Lifetime Miles: 60.91
Race: Phoenix Marathon (26.2 Miles) 04:33:51, Place in age division: 8
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
26.200.000.000.0026.20

Woke up 2-3 times thru the night and finally got up at 3:15, showered, dressed, drank EmergenC and ate a banana.  Karen had a restless night as well.  Hubby gave me a blessing in which it says I would be able to push through the pain that would come.  (Wait!!!  PAIN?!?!  Push through?!  This is supposed to be a long run with hundreds of friends, not a race!!!  Pain should not be in the equation! :)  We confidently told hubby, Gary and David we will finish under 5 hours! :)

At 4:15 we went to pick up the breakfast-to-go-bag (orange, energy bar, danish) provided by the hotel for marathoners and rode the hotel shuttle van to the bus pick up.  I ate the danish with cup of oj in the van.  Ate the Greek yogurt I brought on the bus ride.  My body was still under the influence of the TylenolPM...so groggy!  Karen and I asked ourselves why do we do this, why do we not just do the Half.. we'd finish way before lunch, go swimming, shopping, movie and night out on the town!  Haha!!! :)

Got to the start around 5ish.  Rhett spotted me as we walked past him and his friend, Jeff sitting by a kerosene heater.  SO SO SO happy to see him!  :)  We chatted a little bit and got separated at the pop lines.  I kept an eye out for BeMo and AmyG but never saw them. :(

All the snacking on the drive yesterday, lunch and humongous dinner last night came back to bite me.  Karen and I made 3 pop trips before the race started in pitch darkness.  They had fireworks display (like a 4th of July celebration) after the National Anthem then everyone walked to the start.  I shed my 2 light fleece, long pants for the drop bag; and kept the gloves and arm warmers (that were part of the race swag) as the temp was a bit cool, probably high 40s.

The race started on time at 6:30.  We crossed the mat about 2 min. after gun time marching with the 4:40 pace group.  The first 4 miles were downhill from Usery Mountain on newly paved road in the dark under a bright half moon.  Caught up with the 4:25 pace group.  The pacer was on our bus...he was not very talkative...other than announcing his time and pace just before every aid station...he did not speak one word.  I had fun talking to fellow runners.  Mile 6 was uphill in a very nice neighborhood.  The hill didn't seem to be as bad as what the elevation chart shows.  We kept a steady effort.  The spectators were enthusiastic and fun...told us it's all downhill to the finish!  :) 

I have never seen such majestic cactus up close.  They have got to be 100 years old.  It is awesome!  I love the scenery and beautiful homes.  Took a gu at mile 7.  We walked through every aid station, stopped and waited for the pop at mile 11.  After each aid station, we'd slowly caught back up with the 4:25 pace group.  Each time we caught up to them, we'd stir up the conversations again.  The pacer would say:"There you are!  Wonder where you've been!"  We made friends with Terry (the smooth glider gal),  Judy (the foxy Teena-look-alike), Mike (the steady trotter), 4 girls/gals wearing identical shirts with the message:  Some wish...some want....some MAKE it happen,  a lady I dubbed Ms Punctual (her shirt says ON TIME), a guy with the shirt (No Speed Limit), several sets of sisters wearing identical outfits,  Mr. India, and finally Mr. Aussie (the Marathon Man) who was wearing a shiny blue unitard with a red cape and a "M" shaped like "Super Man" logo in front.  The middle of the pack was a lively bunch.  :)

I think we got to the half in 2:13 and everything felt great.  The course had a lot of turns so sometimes we'd get a nice welcomed breeze because it was getting really warm with the sun beating down on us and NO shade.  Running past a grove of orange trees was lovely.  The spectators were awesome...the same groups of families cheering over and over including Choo Baka and Princess Leah...girls with pomp pomps...mothers with pots and pans...lots of great posters.  I also saw two bottles on the road discarded by elite runners and a blue sponge (wondering if they belonged to Jake Krong). 

We were able to stay with the 4:25 group (they started 2 min before us) and were on target for 4:30 until mile 20.  At the mile 19 aid station I took a Gu, 2 salt caps and 2 ibuprofen.  My shins started to cramp.  It was getting really hot, my wheels were falling off.  Karen was so good to me.  She patiently, cheerfully, kindly stayed with me every step of the way, talked to me with positive stories and encouragement.  We even sang "Called to Serve".  Her legs would threaten to cramp when we slowed too much so she'd say:  "just keep moving, just keep moving."  I felt like I was running, but really just shuffling in pain with every step.  I did not look at my Garmin except when it beeped at the mile lap.  Karen encouraged me to keep moving:  "We can walk when we get to the aid station.  Larry will be there at the finish.  David will be so proud of you.  The missionaries have to learn to get along with their companions...but you get to cuddle with yours every night! :) :) :)"  What a great friend, good influence and blessing Karen is in my life! :) She refused to leave me.  She stopped to use the pop at mile 24 and told me to keep going and she quickly caught back up to me.  The last mile was slight downhill which was great and we saw hubby at the corner with half mile to go.  He ran us in telling us all the wonderful food waiting for us at the finish.

Karen and I felt like a million bucks with the spectators cheering loudly on both sides of the shute and the announcer said our names as we ran cross the finish together. :) :) :)

They have so much food provided by vendors at the finish, chicken, fish taco, protein drinks, otter pops, breads and baked goods, energy drinks, chips, fruits, snack cups.  There's a huge tent with PT, people to wrap your legs in ice bags and ice water kiddy pool to take care of your legs and feet plus a massage tent.  Outside of the recovery area are food vendors who offer free chicken, fish taco, hot dogs, pop corn for spectators.  Needless to say we did not need to go to restaurant for lunch. 

We heard and saw MelodyJ (Runningafterbabies) went up to the podium as 2nd place overall women as we headed to the clothing retrieval.  I clapped and cheered but I don't think she heard me! :)

I think this is a very well run/organized inaugural marathon, great support, race shirt, swag, medal, food, finish line festivities, etc.  The only thing I did not like about the course is the many turns and scary crossings at major road intersections.  The police did a wonderful job controlling the traffic which was rather heavy on a busy Saturday morning in these Mesa roads with many retail stores and restaurants.  The motorists were very patient however but I heard there was still a fender bender accident.  Finishing temp was in the 80s (my car said 86 when driving back to the hotel) and with no shade to be found, it was a scorcher.  Other than that, I had a lot of fun! 

After showering, we took an "ice bath" in the hotel's outdoor pool (the heater was broken so the water was rather cold).  Then we laid out under the AZ sun for some VitD therapy.  There were quite a few guys from UT at the pool and we had a nice visit! :)

Side note:  my daughter was running the Woodlands Half Marathon the same morning in Texas and we were thinking about her during our first half.  She finished in 1:51 for her first half marathon!  I am so proud of her!  :) :) :)

Elixir 6 (bubble Gum) Sz6.5 Miles: 26.20
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Carina on Tue, Mar 05, 2013 at 08:08:14 from 204.15.86.83

You are the racing queen!! Sounds like such a fun race. I always ask myself as I wait for busses in the wee hours of the morning why the heck I race. I haven't had a race yet that I'm sorry I did though :) Hopefully as it warms up I'll see you out running a bit before you leave!!

From Kimmy on Tue, Mar 05, 2013 at 08:36:39 from 160.7.240.107

Smooth, This was the only way I knew to get ahold of you. My bosses son, who is in the MTC right now, is going to your same mission....you maybe his mission president. Anyway, they live in Alpine and thought they might know you. Their son, Alex plays the Cello and there were some Lew children that played with him. Does any of your children play? Would love to hear from you

Kim

From Smooth on Tue, Mar 05, 2013 at 11:21:59 from 67.2.127.125

Carina ~ you made me smile! :)

Kimmy ~ hi there sweet girl! How are you? So good to hear from you! :) :) :)

Yes, all my children play string instruments. There is a good chance that Alex played in the Timpanogos Chamber Orchestra with my some of my kids. Years ago I was the manager of that orchestra which held practices on Saturdays in the Mountain Ridge Jr. High school in Highland. The conductor lives in Alpine. Oh how I loved those young musicians, good good kids. :)

It will be awesome if your boss' son ends up in my mission. The Sydney Mission will be realigned to become two missions, North and South. We are excited to be serving with the wonderful missionaries who will be assigned to the Sydney South Mission! :)

Btw, I thought about you reaching your goal of the St. George Marathon 10 year club. I miss it by one year since this coming SGM would've been my 9th. O well! I hope I see you sometime before I leave. Take care. Much love to you and your cute family! :)

From RAD on Tue, Mar 05, 2013 at 12:27:47 from 76.27.82.202

What an amazing race! I loved the report, always makes me feel like I'm right there with you...which would've been awesome :) Nice job working through the pain and finishing strong. Nothing like having a friend by your side to pull you to the finish. Karen is one in a million! Congrats on a wonderful strong finish.

From DaleG on Tue, Mar 05, 2013 at 20:11:22 from 152.216.11.5

Very cool, Smoothie!!! Thanks for all the details. I still don't know how you remember so much. lol

Amy and Julie Ann looked for you, but ovbiously never found you.

From Toby on Wed, Mar 06, 2013 at 10:28:26 from 199.101.229.6

It sounds like such a fun marathon (except for those last few miles)!! And a fun weekend! You always have a way of making miserable miles sound magnificent! Hooray for you and Karen!!

From Teena Marie on Wed, Mar 06, 2013 at 14:17:33 from 75.165.251.79

Who knew cactus could be so majestic? Love it! :)

Congrats on another marathon and all the awesomeness you bring to each one. :)

From Rhett on Wed, Mar 06, 2013 at 16:20:22 from 74.41.239.14

Smooth, thanks for taking time to chat before the race. Doone was sad that she didn't see Larry at the finish. I hope you guys had a great weekend. You are an inspiration to me. Great race! Now get rested and ready for Boston.

From flatlander on Wed, Mar 06, 2013 at 19:09:59 from 98.197.129.41

Congratulations again, how many marathons left before you leave for Australia? Boston and Ogden for sure, I assume? Is UVM too late to fit in?

From MarcE on Wed, Mar 06, 2013 at 19:11:27 from 71.158.67.196

Way to go, Smooth! I planted a Saguaro cactus seed a few weeks ago. My great grandchildren will really enjoy it. :) You are amazing as ever!

From runningafterbabies on Thu, Mar 07, 2013 at 07:08:00 from 71.195.219.247

Thank you for the cheers! I agree the first couple miles were really beautiful. Congratulations on yet another marathon completed.

From Nancy on Thu, Mar 07, 2013 at 17:28:02 from 76.23.21.118

Great race. I love reading your report. I'm glad you had Karen to help you along. So you and your husband will be mission presidents? That is great. My husband's father and mother were mission presidents in Uraguay , Paraguay, when we were first married. I'm sure you will love it and be great.

From The Quiet Pirate on Fri, Mar 08, 2013 at 12:37:39 from 152.26.230.60

Wonderful race report- you've got one more marathon under your belt, and so many memories to take with you to Sydney!

Job well done!!

From Smooth on Fri, Mar 08, 2013 at 17:55:00 from 67.2.127.125

Thanks everyone for your kind words!:):):)

RAD ~ you were sorely missed in this marathon. Karen and I "danced" from buffet table to buffet table in your honor like old times at Park City! :)

Dale ~ I was bummed that I didn't run into or see Amy and JulieAnn. I found Amy's time on the web result but could not find BeMo's. Did she run with Amy? I couldn't get on Forumflyers either. How did Amy like the marathon?

Toby ~ the last 10K of any marathon is usually not very fun! :) I would've walked it in if Karen wasn't there to pull me through. We miss you! I hope we will run together again soon! :)

SSF ~ those cactus really are majestic, very tall, straight, pointing to heaven! It's AWESOME!!! Love and miss you! :)

Rhett ~ Larry was bummed that he missed Doone and your kids and he even missed seeing you run in. Hope you guys had a fun weekend.

We had a good day. After the race, Larry took David shopping for clothes right there in Mesa Riverview. I drove Karen and I back to the hotel to clean up. We lounged around the pool and then Karen's daughter, Amy, arrived from Tuscon (where she was going to school on a tennis scholarship). We went out for Mexican dinner and drove by the Mesa Temple in the evening. We accomplished our objective of visiting our children who are attending school there and got to run a Saturday marathon together. We feel so very blessed and spoiled! :)

Flat ~ how are you? I am going to take one marathon at a time. Definitely going to run Boston as that trip has been planned for a long time. Really hope to be able to run Ogden because so many of my friends are running it. UVM is iffy. That is the day my youngest son is coming home from his mission in Taiwan and two weeks out from us entering the MTC. Life has been very busy and my priority has shifted obviously. Thanks for asking! :)

Melody ~ HUGE congratz to your awesome PR race and taking 2nd. So very very happy and proud of you! :)

Nancy ~ A good friend of ours served in Uraguqay and her mission president was Gene R. Cook who lives in our stake. what a small world?!!!

QP ~ thanks! you'll have to sail your ship down under to visit us...ahoy mate! :) I'm sure there will be boatload of treasures for you there! :)

From Smooth on Fri, Mar 08, 2013 at 17:58:05 from 67.2.127.125

Marc ~ you have quite the green thumb. My regret in life is not having the opportunity to visit you and your family in your neat home and "farm"! :) Be sure to take pictures of your Saguaro as it grows! Hope to see you in Boston in 5 weeks! :)

From Burt on Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 22:40:53 from 72.223.80.89

Smooth, sorry I missed you at the mile 7 aid station. Your report says you took a gu then, maybe you drank one of the waters I poured. I did see one tiny Asian lady and thought maybe it was you, but she looked like she was hurting and in EVERY picture I've seen of you, you always have a smile. So I knew it wasn't you. Great job on another marathon.

From Smooth on Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 22:48:44 from 71.35.240.19

Hi there Burt! :) Yes, I am sure I drank one of the waters you poured. :) Thanks for volunteering and working the aid station. This is one of the most organized and well supported marathons I've run. Kudos to all the volunteers! :)

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